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January 31, 2013

Vine

Last week, Twitter introduced a new video-sharing application known as Vine. Since then, the app has been in the news almost every day, sometimes not for the best reasons.

Vine was announced as the new way to share video on Twitter. No more YouTube, Cinemagram, or other 3rd party applications. This comes straight from Twitter itself. Users are easily able to create 6-second videos with sound that automatically loop. Because of the short length and looping ability, most people are viewing Vine as a GIF maker. However, that really depends on how you shoot video. Vine offers something that I have not seen in any other video application. Vine only records video when your finger is touching the screen, but unlike Snapchat, you are able to let go of the screen, point to something else, and then start recording again. This makes for easy cutaways and is great for how-to videos with multiple steps. Once the video is finished recording, one button allows you to post to Twitter. The app also says that you can post to Facebook, but Facebook has blocked Vine from allowing you to find Facebook friends who are using Vine.

As with all social applications, brands are very interested in becoming early adopters of the next big service. Vine is no exception to this trend, as many brands have already hopped on board. Brands aren’t necessarily using Vine to showcase their products either. Some are just showing what cool things can be done with stop motion animation, like these from Wheat Thins and GE: http://bit.ly/XSJ5vdhttp://bit.ly/XSJ5eD My personal favorite ad from a brand is Red Vines using Vine to post their Vines: http://bit.ly/XSJ8qF

Will Vine become the next big platform for brands to be on? No. You can only say so much in 6 seconds, and the gimmick of stop-motion videos will quickly wear off. Many people have already stated that other apps already do what Vine does, only better. The competitor that people tend to bring up most often is Cinemagram. Cinemagram allows you take a video that you shot and animate part of it. So while some of your video is moving, the rest remains still. Many brands have also already created content for Cinemagram that shows off their products in cool new ways. Check out this one from Nike: http://bit.ly/XSMzxx

While Vine is currently one of the top apps in the app store, it does have its drawbacks. Very shortly after it was released, Vine became inundated with pornography. In the midst of the porn controversy, an X-rated video was accidentally made one of Vine’s Editor’s Picks, which are pushed out to all users feeds. Vine has also been experiencing random downtimes and there have been recent threats to remove it from the App Store entirely. Brands would be wise to wait until the bad buzz about Vine has calmed down before jumping on to the service.

UPDATE:

A few weeks into Vine and it looks like some brands are already jumping on the bandwagon. The first contest has also been launched on the video-sharing service. The Cavendish Hotel in London have asked fans to submit a romantic Vine using #ValentineVine and sending it to @Cavendish_Hotel. The most romantic submission wins an overnight stay with pre-dinner cocktails, a four-course dinner with wine, and a full English breakfast.

While previously, I stated that Vine may not be the a good place for brands, my opinion has wavered. Many brands have come up with innovative ways to show off their products, such as Bacardi and Neiman Marcus. Drink recipes, such as the one Bacardi posted, are something that is super simple to explain through video. Clothing brands, such as Nieman Marcus, would be wise to use Vine to show their consumers how certain products move while being worn.